This statement was authored by our colleagues at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. At the Community Church of New York, we share all of these sentiments and ask you to please consider donating to this emergency fundraising campaign.
Israel’s recent military operation and lockdown in the Occupied Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank has forced thousands of Palestinians from their homes. This siege is a disproportionate response to the shooting and death of two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in one of the most heavily militarized parts of the West Bank and amounts to collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Almost 4,000 families have been displaced from their homes following the Israeli government’s pledge under Netanyahu to “destroy” Hebron and “to change it completely,” along with calls for “a comprehensive military campaign” as has been done in Gaza.
UUSC denounces this collective punishment campaign and remains in solidarity with Palestinian communities who have continued to call for peace.
Alongside Community Church New York and the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, UUSC is responding urgently by collecting funds to support families in Hebron and neighboring communities who are under threat of violence and displacement. UUSC staff recently traveled with a delegation of faith leaders to the West Bank and witnessed the Israel military occupation firsthand. We are in touch with impacted communities and receiving real-time assessments of family needs. Please give what you can now.
Donations to our emergency humanitarian relief fund will be distributed through nonprofits Friends of Hebron and Rawa Fund, who we are in partnership with and can get resources directly into the hands of communities most affected in Hebron.
We recognize more will be needed to assist the people of Palestine in the future, including upcoming solidarity actions our members can support to keep pressure on U.S. officials to oppose Israel’s acts of genocide against the Palestinian people and demand accountability.
We are grateful to UUSC’s members, our partners, and global activists working tirelessly to create alternative systems which are built upon peace, equity, and justice.
